Shadows
by Aubrie1234
Summary: His fear of ghosts isn't irrational. He can see them, hear them, but he can't do anything about them. They also know of his problems that no one, not even his twin or his brother, know. So, even if he's afraid of them, they are the ones to give him comfort. And sometimes, he wants it. (Right now a one-shot, but may become a one-shot series)
1. Chapter 1

Shadows

By: Aubrie1234

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His gaze stayed on the statue, even as he felt the presence beside him. Some of his States believed in ghosts, could see them, and they (along with everyone else) teased him about it. However, what they never knew is that he could see them and took some comfort in them, despite the fear he held.

"It's been 151 years since the end of the Civil War."

"Has it?" he gave a grim smile, "It seems like yesterday I saw you die, Abe."

"Has anything special happened lately?"

"A little." his eyes shifted to meet the ghost's, "Mary comforted me the other day in the White House while I was having nightmares. You picked yourself a lovely wife, sir."

"Thank you, Alfred. That isn't everything though, is it?" The nation sighed, shaking his head.

"The country's been tearing me apart. None of these guys are fit to be President, unlike you, General George, Ronald..." Abe nodded.

"I know."

"And then this whole war on terrorism! I've been attacked more times than I can count!" his hand moved to cover a certain place, "Orlando was _bad_. I couldn't move my legs without hurting for a week, I think. It could have been longer, I wasn't sure. Then there's the water crisis in Flint, giving help to the rest of the world, who are trying to drain me of my money," Alfred added the last part darkly, "and England's decision to leave the EU. It's got all the stocks and money out of whack. I don't know if Arthur wanted to leave, though. He always told me about how great the Union was. Brings back old memories, doesn't it?"

"At least there hasn't been another Civil War. You told me how more States wanted to secede after the passing of the Gay Marriage Law." Alfred nodded.

"And by the way, these are for you and Mary." he showed Abe the bouquet in his hands, "For the kids, too. How has Robert been? I mean, he felt awful after your death, and then he was at the other deaths of William and James... I've never gotten the chance to ask him how he's been and-"

"Alfred, I should be the one thanking _you_." The nation blinked, surprised.

"Why, sir?"

"You were like a father to him, Alfred, when I was shot. You also helped to console him when your other leaders were shot. He thought of himself as a bad-luck charm, but you managed to convince him that he wasn't."

"Didn't really change his perception, though." Alfred said, but a smile was on his face, "Glad to have helped your son, sir. And has he become friends with Edwin? I mean, it just seems like they would become friends after Edwin saved his life, even though he was the brother of your killer."

"Actually, they have been friends for a while now. I see them together sometimes, out on walks. However, this talk is about you, Alfred, not my son. How have _you_ been?"

"I've told you already, sir-"

"But have you told me everything?" Alfred let a small smile escape onto his face.

"You always had the ability to convince me to tell you everything, Abe." he sighed and turned back to the statue, "No, in my personal life, nothing's been going right. The other nations have been hard on me lately, even more so than usual. I don't blame Sadik, Francis, or Alice, especially if they get angry. But the others?" Alfred snorted, "They have no good bone in their bodies! I know you say not to judge someone until you know them well, sir, but I've known these guys for centuries. They've always been hard on me, hard on _us_. Why can't they ever leave me in peace?" Abe placed a hand on Alfred's shoulder.

"They might be stressed by their own problems, Alfred. After all, you did mention England's decision. That might be what's causing tempers to run high right now." Alfred nodded.

"Yeah...Thanks, sir." he walked forward to place the flowers at the foot of the statue.

"In a few days, there's going to be another World Meeting. I was hoping to see you and General George, possibly Ronald, to help calm my nerves. I don't want anything to get out that I don't mean. I don't want to lash out at them when it's not their fault, unlike what they're doing to me."

"You may not consider yourself to be a hero, despite how much you say you are one, Alfred," Abe said, "But I know you are one because of how you think to protect others, even if they've done you wrong."

"I'm the strongest nation, sir, you know that. If I tried to hurt them, I could even take down _Ivan_. I'm not doing it because I'm a hero, I'm doing it because I don't want anyone to get hurt." While saying this, Alfred walked to the steps of the memorial, then paused, "But, you know what? I think you're right sir. I really am a hero, because those with the largest smiles hide the biggest scars. Besides, heroes protect everyone, even the bad guys. Even Confederacy..." He turned around, but saw no one. He let another smile grace his face.

"Happy birthday, sir. May you rest in peace." Alfred turned back and continued on his way, hands in his pockets. Ghosts may scare him sometimes, but they still helped him get through things in life that he sometimes felt was more than he could handle. Some were harmful, some couldn't move on, but many came back to help others. In their own way, they were heroes too.


	2. AN

**ATTENTION, REVIEWERS, GUESTS, READERS, FAVORITERS, AND FOLLOWERS! THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!**

 **Well, not really, but I needed to get your attention somehow, right? Anyway, I have a challenge for all of you! A while back, I found a picture on DeviantArt by 1sthi1357 made of Dino TK, from my story, _Of Dinos and Digimon_. Last night, when I was looking at it again, it gave me an idea!**

 **I am not a drawing person. I trace, but don't draw. Which is why I want to ask you guys if you could draw for me! Well, not for me, but from my stories.**

 **This is what I mean: you draw things from my stories and post them on DeviantArt, I'll mention them in the story they're from. There is no cost or prize, except maybe a Llama and my eternal happiness!**

 **Here are the rules:**

 **1\. You _MUST_ include my name in the description so I can find it and the name of the story it's from.**

 **2\. It doesn't have to be a good picture, it can be whatever. I want to see what you all can come up with!**

 **3\. You can make multiple works of art, not just one piece.**

 **4\. They can either be character designs, scenes (or comics) from the story, or title pictures.**

 **Now that that's done with, I hope you guys take on the challenge! See you!**


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